out. this morning on early today, fiasco on the field. drama over the nfl's botched call by a replacement referee makes its way all the way to washington. miracle escape. a russian truck driver walks away from a disastrous head-on collision. and extreme sky. new hubble images show nasa's deepest ever view of the universe. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with that controversial call. the disputed play ending monday night's football game between

green bay and seattle has become a national debate. even both presidential candidates are now weighing in calling for the nfl to end the lockout of the regular referees. nbc's jay gray reports. >> the game's final play. >> reporter: the final eight seconds of monday night's game now forever frozen in time. >> who do they give it to? touchdown! >> reporter: or was it? one official signals touchdown, the other touchback. nfl replacement officials again in the spotlight. >> i don't like the way this game finished. i have a bad taste in my mouth. >> reporter: the chaos and confusion of the final play first giving way to disbelief. >> i never seen anything like that in all my years in football. >> reporter: and then disgust. >> this is ridiculous. >> look at the replay and then the fact that it was reviewed. it was awful. >> frustrating game. >> don't ask me a question about the officials. >> reporter: the questions and the ongoing labor dispute between the nfl and the officials union linger along

with concerns about player safety and how the controversy may affect the integrity of the league. a firestorm that's been building through the first three weeks of the season. at least five coaches face possible fines from the league for showing their frustration over the officials, including the patriots bill belichick who tried to grab a referee after a questionable call at the end of sunday night's game. >> trying to get an explanation for obviously an important call/play in that game. >> reporter: a written explanation on what the league calls a simultaneous catch monday night points out offensive pass interference should have been called before it ever happened ending the play and the game but then goes on to say in part, the nfl, quote, supports the decision not to overturn the on-field ruling. >> tragic. >> even though support and trust is clearly wavering for coaches, players, and fans. jay gray, nbc news. president obama and

republican candidate mitt romney campaign today in the important battleground state of ohio. yesterday president obama addressed the united nations general assembly where syria and iran took center stage. nbc's tracie potts joins us with those details. >> reporter: good morning. the focus ohio, as you said, a key battleground state where the president now has a big lead. >> i accept that people will call me awful things every day, and i will always defend their right to do so. >> fresh off his speech at the united nations, president obama heads to ohio today with an eight-point lead according to "the washington post." mitt romney is there today, too, talking jobs and taxes. >> is there anybody who thinks that raising taxes will help grow the economy? >> no! >> his plan is to continue what he has done before. the status quo has not worked. >> romney attacking someone on taxes?

that's like me attacking someone for being fashion nat in politics. >> reporter: romney is at a two-day bus tour with his running mate. >> after four years of getting the run-around, america needs a turn-around. >> reporter: it's a tough state to make a pitch for 12 million more jobs. ohio's unemployment rate is lower than the national average. in ohio and seven other states today, the president releases another add slamming romney for dismissing the 47% of americans who don't pay taxes. romney's new add today will focus on struggling american families. and he will likely run into some of those families in florida where another "washington post" poll says the president now has a four-point edge. lynn. >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. here is a look at other stories making news early today in america. in hawaii powerful waves created

an incredible scene at the beginning of a paddle boat race. the teams were tossed around like rag dolls. the ocean was littered with at least ten capsized canoes before the race even stores. close to 8,000 bison created quite a rumble. thousands of spectators from all over the world make the trip each year to watch the animals stampede across the prairie before they're corralled into pens. roughly 250 thof ohm will go up for auction. in utah, one farmer put a unique spin on this year's presidential election, the faces of president obama and mitt romney have been depicted in a corn maze. who thinks of these things? guests will make their picks by choosing to enter the maze through either the obama or romney entrance. the straw poll. i like that. the voting will end on election day. now for a look at your national and regional weather,

here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> a plus for creative and a plus for having a lot of of time on his hand. a lot of corn to cut. good morning everyone. we are watching another quiet, beautiful start to our morning in all areas of the west. yesterday was another hot day in phoenix at 99. many of the areas were seasonally cool. vegas dropped down to 89. that was a little more like it. los angeles was a beautiful 79. up in the northwest a cold front went through. you're a little cooler than you like at 67. but 72 in portland is nice by anyone's standards this time of year. as far as the temperatures this morning, you probably need a light shirt or maybe even areas of possibly the northern rockies maybe a jacket. that's really about it. temperatures in the 50s for the most part. not even really sweater weather quite yet. as we go throughout the day, you probably want to carry that jacket home if you do bring it this morning. upper level low spinning over areas of colorado and utah, continuing to bring cooler weather there.

otherwise crystal clear skies. a little bit of clouds lingering around the coast around san francisco south wards. that's about it. that should burn off during the day. high pressure dominating there. the weak cold front existing into montana. no storms on the way. looks like we're in for a dry weather pattern. not a change in the west for another six to eight days. as far as today's forecast, beautiful in portland, perfect fall day at 75 and sunny. not bad in the desert southwest and up through the coastal areas of california, hopefullycalifor. 89 in sacramento. nice morning. a little warm in the afternoon. nice and quiet at the end, going up to the last week of

september. >> can't believe that still. it went so fast. coming up, reality hits wall street. home prices rise and california climbs on board with google's car of the future. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus find out which female vocalist is billboard's woman of the year. zack greinke turns back the clock. the tigers get even and pop the champagne. another team punches their ticket to the postseason. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. the naacp is pressing the u.n. to send observers to monitor this year's elections. the civil rights group believes up to 6 million americans are being blocked from voting because of felony criminal records. in spain, dozens of protesters have been injured in clashes with police. they're angry over cuts in

public employee salaries, health and education as spain races to deal with massive debt. in russia, this is incredible video. it shows a truck driver literally walking away from a crash with another big rig completely unharmed. he was hurled from his cab at the moment of impact but amazingly landed right side up with barely a scratch. and finally, this is the deepest view space you have ever seen. the hubble telescope has sent back a picture more than 13 billion light years in the making. it's a collage of views, more than 5,000 galaxies captured over ten years. and now here's an early look at how wall street's going to kick off the day. the dow closed at 13,457 after stumbling 101 points yesterday. the s&p dropped 15. the nasdaq tumbled 43. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei lost 184 points while in hong kong the

hang seng fell 170. well, so far the first week of fall has delivered a dose of harsh reality back to the street. heavy equipment maker caterpillar spooked markets tuesday joining the likes of several bell weather stocks to warn sluggish global growth will cut into its bottom line. technology shares came under pressure over lingering worries apple supplies of the new iphone 5 won't be able to keep up with demand. shares of the world's most valuable company fell for a second day in a row. the conference board's highest consumer confidence reading in seven months was overshadowed by global stimulus worries. likewise, gains sparked by a steady rise in home prices were eventually wiped out by the end of the day. staples lost ground tuesday after revealing it will close dozens of stores and reduce its north american retail space by 15%. investors appeared to be encouraged by a presentation from blackberry maker research in motion tuesday. rim's stock climbed 5%. and finally california

governor jerry brown rode to google headquarters in a self-driving toyota prius tuesday before signing legislation paving the way for the company's driverless cars in california. the new law allows testing of vehicles on public roadways so long as properly licensed drivers are behind the wheel, which when you think about it is a little ironic but still pretty cool. well, coming up, the tigers roar, the white sox stumble and the a's blast off in extras, plus a walk-off clincher calls for champagne showers in atlanta. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. anywhere in the middle of the country you have a chance of significant rainfall the next couple of days and that's a good thing. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today"

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, a final inning two-run homer against the miami marlins secured a playoff berth for the a's last night. here's nbc's mario solis with an here's mario solis with a look at all your sports headlines. good morning. after an epic meltdown last year, the braves finally got it right. to atlanta where it didn't come easy for the tribe, the marlins donovan solano has never hit a major league home run and last

night he hit two. the second gives miami a 3-2 lead, but then the power of the rally cap takes over. ninth inning, atlanta down one. one on for freddie freeman. if it's deep enough, it's a playoff berth. there it goes, and here comes the braves. they win 4-3 in dramatic fashion. pop the champagne, atlanta locks down a wild card spot, meaning chipper jones will have one last shot at a world series title. the race in the a.l. central is as close as it gets. tigers only scored two runs against the royals, but that's all they would need. anibal sanchez was pitching beebees. ten strikeouts over nine innings of work. tigers beat kc 2-0. it is just sanchez's fourth win of the year, but it couldn't have come at a better time. the white sox couldn't keep pace. they lost to the indians. ezequel carrera caps off a three-run fourth with an rbi single. cleveland up 4-0 and they hold on to win 4-3. tigers and sox now tied for first in the a.l. central. seems like every time the orioles win, the yankees do too.

well, yesterday both teams lost. twinkies hung four on the pin stripes in the seventh. they win 5-4. new york's lead in the east is still 1 1/2. angels are in the hunt for october. zack greinke pitching a gem. thirteen strikeouts in just five innings of work. it is the first time somebody's done that since 1920. angels beat the mariners and are two back in the wild card. angels are chasing the a's. oakland played the role of spoiler in texas. rangers had a chance to clinch a playoff spot but george kotarras had other ideas. the go-ahead homer in the tenth. rangers will have to wait another day. a's win 3-2. and that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. lady gaga hits back against critics of her fluctuating weight. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll tell you about one army soldier's epic mission to save his mom. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this wednesday. this is a time for big storms in alaska. we're in between storms, so today won't be a bad day. temperatures still on the cooler side. the amount of sunlight is getting shorter and shorter every day. 52 in anchorage, 52 in juneau. the cold air in barrow. hawaii looking great. temperatures in the 80s. if you're watching us on

king 5 news, get an up-close look at australian wall la bees and learn about their disappearing habitat at cougar amount zoo. well, now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. well, pop star katy perry's year just keeps getting better. billboard has announced she's going to take home their woman of the year award during the magazine's women in music event in november. responding to criticism about her recent weight gain which isn't that much. i have no idea who is criticizing here. she's revealed on her website she suffered from anorexia and bulimia since she was 15. she started a news section on her little monsters website for followers to share their perceived flaws. well, madonna said she was being deliberately ironic when she wrongly referred to president obama as a black muslim during an on stage endorsement at her washington, d.c., concert.

>> she can't get any positive press. and remember this little guy, the four-legged star of this year's academy awards winner for best picture "the artist." >> i'm going to watch the movie again. my favorite movie to take a nap to. >> well, uggie has published a memoir of his life in show business. the tongue in cheek book reveals the jack russell terrier's crush on his "water for elephants" co-star reese witherspoon and about how he once got drunk by drinking champagne from a glass left on the floor. isn't that sad when a dog's memoir can totally outsell your memoir. >> i'd have to right one first and actually have to do something significant to write about. >> exactly. our lives are just like this right now. >> my days at lambda chapter would be interest sglg me banging my head against the wall all day long. this comes to us from kris 6 news in corpus christi, texas.

an army officer finished an amazing journey. when sergeant mcbroom found out he was being transferred to texas, he decided to embark on an 800 mile mission from mobile, alabama. the iraq war veteran peddled his way through four states in six days in honor of his mother's battle with breast cancer. his epic trek raised close to $2,000. he hopes it will inspire others to fight back against the disease. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

more than a million new zealanders came together, but not for fun and games. people in airports, schools and even zoos joined for the country's first national earthquake drill. the government hopes safety measures like taking cover under desks and benches will the take away. ironically, just minutes before the drill a 2.8 magnitude earthquake hit new zealand's west coast. one of australia's largest aquariums has reopened for business. sydney's sea life aquarium was closed for nine months during its $10 million refurbishment. it was worth the wait though with the main attraction being introduced called the shark walk. look how cool that is. it's a glass viewing area featuring over 50 of the ocean's largest predators. he's smiling. how large? well, some of the creatures had to be brought in by crane. and finally, one sky

driver's dream to become supersonic is about to become reality. felix baumgartner will attempt to break the world record for the highest altitude sky dive when he jumps from the edge of space on october 8th. a giant balloon will carry the 43-year-old in a space capsule 23 miles above new mexico where he's going to make his leap. he has successfully completed several test jumps in preparation for this. but, you know, it's like over achieving. isn't sky diving enough? do you have to make us look that bad? >> this guy is on the edge. i mean, he looked like an apollo astronaut. >> are you going to burst into "edge of glory," lady gaga. you want to. i see it in your eyes. well, it's time for now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. >> burial services will be held at arlington national cemetery for army chief warrant officer thalia ramirez. ramirez died when her helicopter crashed in afghanistan while supporting operation enduring freedom. the national park service will hold a news conference to

provide an update on repair work for the washington monument. the upper portion of the landmark sustained large cracks during the august 2011 earthquake. the 555 foot tall structure has been closed to the public ever since. and happy birthday to tennis champ serena williams. she turns 31 years old today. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. as part of our education nation series, brian williams goes one on one with mitt romney on the chicago teachers strike and the cost of education, and meet dressy jessie. a woman who's become an internet sensation by dressing up in different costumes every day. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com